U.S. patent number 9,632,971 [Application Number 14/190,096] was granted by the patent office on 2017-04-25 for method of handling transmission in data transmission system.
This patent grant is currently assigned to MEDIATEK INC.. The grantee listed for this patent is Ralink Technology Corp.. Invention is credited to Yu-Hsun Chen, Chih-Chieh Chou, Cheok Yan Goh, Mao-Lin Wu, Ching-Hwa Yu.
United States Patent |
9,632,971 |
Goh , et al. |
April 25, 2017 |
Method of handling transmission in data transmission system
Abstract
A method of handling transmission for a host in a data
transmission system includes establishing a connection with a
device of the data transmission system via a first frequency;
receiving a negotiating information from the device; and
re-establishing the connection with the device via a second
frequency when the negotiating information reveals that the second
frequency is available for the host to communicate with the device;
wherein the second frequency is different than the first
frequency.
Inventors: |
Goh; Cheok Yan (Hsinchu,
TW), Chen; Yu-Hsun (Hsinchu County, TW),
Wu; Mao-Lin (Hsinchu County, TW), Chou;
Chih-Chieh (Taipei, TW), Yu; Ching-Hwa (Tainan,
TW) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Ralink Technology Corp. |
Hsinchu County |
N/A |
TW |
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Assignee: |
MEDIATEK INC. (Hsin-Chu,
TW)
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Family
ID: |
51389401 |
Appl.
No.: |
14/190,096 |
Filed: |
February 26, 2014 |
Prior Publication Data
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Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
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US 20140244872 A1 |
Aug 28, 2014 |
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Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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61769959 |
Feb 27, 2013 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F
13/4286 (20130101); Y02D 10/151 (20180101); Y02D
10/14 (20180101); Y02D 10/00 (20180101) |
Current International
Class: |
G06F
13/42 (20060101); G06F 13/38 (20060101) |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Sun; Scott
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Hsu; Winston Margo; Scott
Parent Case Text
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application
No. 61/769,959, which was filed on Feb. 27, 2013, the contents of
which are incorporated herein by reference.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A method of handling transmission for a host in a data
transmission system, the method comprising: establishing a
connection with a device of the data transmission system via a
first frequency; receiving a negotiating information from the
device; and re-establishing the connection with the device via a
second frequency when the negotiating information reveals that the
second frequency is available for the host to communicate with the
device; wherein the second frequency is lower than the first
frequency; wherein a data transmission frequency between the device
and the host is changed from the first frequency to the second
frequency when interference signals are detected, the second
frequency is a user-defined frequency different than the first
frequency defined by an USB standard, and the interference signals
are generated by a data transmission with the first frequency.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of receiving the
negotiating information from the device comprises: detecting
interference signals around the first frequency; and notifying the
device to transmit the negotiating information when a degree of the
interference signals is greater than a threshold.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the data transmission system is a
universal serial bus (USB) system.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein the step of receiving the
negotiating information from the device is performed during a
training process of the USB system.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of receiving the
negotiating information from the device is performed after data is
transmitted in the data transmission system.
6. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving another
negotiating information related to a third frequency from the
device when the second frequency is not available for the host to
communicate with the device.
7. A method of handling transmission for a device in a data
transmission system, the method comprising: establishing a
connection with a host of the data transmission system via a first
frequency; transmitting a negotiating information to the host; and
allowing the host to re-establish the connection via a second
frequency when the host is required to re-establish the connection
via the second frequency according to the negotiating information;
wherein the second frequency is lower than the first frequency;
wherein a data transmission frequency between the device and the
host is changed from the first frequency to the second frequency
when interference signals are detected, the second frequency is a
user-defined frequency different than the first frequency defined
by an USB standard, and the interference signals are generated by a
data transmission with the first frequency.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein the step of transmitting the
negotiating information to the host comprises: receiving a
notification from the host when a degree of interference signals
detected by the host is greater than a threshold.
9. The method of claim 7, wherein the data transmission system is a
universal serial bus (USB) system.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the step of transmitting the
negotiating information to the host is performed during a training
process of the USB system.
11. The method of claim 7, wherein the step of transmitting the
negotiating information to the host is performed after data is
transmitted in the data transmission system.
12. The method of claim 7, further comprising: receiving a
notification indicating that the second frequency is not available
for the host to communicate with the device; transmitting another
negotiating information related to a third frequency to the host.
Description
BACKGROUND
The present invention relates to a method of handling transmission
in a data transmission system, and more particularly, to a method
of handling transmission capable of dynamically changing a
frequency for data transmission in a data transmission system.
Universal Serial Bus (USB) is a public interface standard for a
personal computer to access peripheral devices. Recently, the
application of USB has been extended to a large number of consumer
electronics and mobile devices. As storage capacity and network
speed enters the epoch of Gigabyte, however, the data connection
between a computer and peripheral devices requires a higher
transmission rate, and USB 2.0 with a highest speed of 480 Mb/S has
difficulty in meeting the continuous growing requirement of access
rate.
In order to meet the demands for higher data transmission, USB 3.0
made a debut in November, 2008. The USB 3.0 promises 5 Gb/s "Super
Speed" data transfers. When operating in "Super Speed", the USB 3.0
adopts "full duplex" signaling over two differential pairs
separating from non-super speed differential pairs. As a result, a
USB 3.0 cable contains 2 wires for power and ground, 2 wires for
non-super speed data, and 4 wires for super speed data, and a
shield. In contrast, a USB 2.0 cable contains only one transmission
pair for data. Apart from that, super speed establishes a
communication pipe between the host and each device in a
host-directed protocol, but USB 2.0 broadcasts packet traffic to
all devices. Certainly, the USB 3.0 has many features different
than the USB 2.0 and those differences are well known by those
skilled in the art, and thus not elaborated on herein.
The USB 3.0 system is compatible with the USB 2.0 system. When the
device is identified, the USB 3.0 system decides whether to run in
super speed (SS) or high speed (HS). However, when the USB 3.0
system is running in super speed, a phase-locked loop (PLL) clock
generator may generate a 5 GHz clock, which allows data to be
transmitted in the super speed connection via a frequency of 2.5
GHz. However, this data transmission may generate a noise spectrum
near 2.5 GHz, which may interfere with wireless communication such
as IEEE 802.11b/g/n or Bluetooth. In such a condition, the wireless
data communication is affected by the USB 3.0 data transmission.
This may result in a drop in throughput on the wireless link.
SUMMARY
It is therefore an objective of the present invention to provide a
method of handling transmission in a data transmission system
capable of dynamically adjusting a frequency for data transmission
in the data transmission system, in order to prevent wireless
transmission from being interfered with the USB 3.0 data
transmission.
A method of handling transmission for a host in a data transmission
system comprises establishing a connection with a device of the
data transmission system via a first frequency; receiving a
negotiating information from the device; and re-establishing the
connection with the device via a second frequency when the
negotiating information reveals that the second frequency is
available for the host to communicate with the device; wherein the
second frequency is different than the first frequency.
A method of handling transmission for a device in a data
transmission system comprises establishing a connection with a host
of the data transmission system via a first frequency; transmitting
a negotiating information to the host; and allowing the host to
re-establish the connection via a second frequency when the host is
required to re-establish the connection via the second frequency
according to the negotiating information; wherein the second
frequency is different than the first frequency.
These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt
become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading
the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that
is illustrated in the various figures and drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an identification flow of a super
speed connection in a USB 3.0 system.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a modified identification flow
when interference signals exist in a USB 3.0 system according to an
embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an identification flow of a high
speed connection in a USB 3.0 system.
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a process for the host according
to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a process for the device according
to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a communication apparatus
according to an embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Please refer to FIG. 1, which is a schematic diagram of an
identification flow of a super speed (SS) connection in a USB 3.0
system. As shown in FIG. 1, when a USB device is connected to a
host of the USB 3.0 system, the host may detect whether the device
is connected. If the device is detected (Step 100), the host then
starts to establish a super speed connection with the device, and
sends a training sequence to identify whether the device supports
the super speed connection (Step 102). If the device has the
capability of super speed data transmission, the device may reply
corresponding information to the host. As a result, the super speed
connection is established to transmit data in super speed (Step
104).
As mentioned above, when the super speed data is transmitted, a
noise spectrum near 2.5 GHz may be generated and interfere with
IEEE 802.11b/g/n communication signals, which usually utilizes 2.4
GHz frequency band for data communication. When the interference
signals are detected, the present invention may change the data
transmission frequency between the host and the device, in order to
avoid the interference.
In an embodiment, when a degree of the interference signals is
greater than a threshold, the host may notify the device. The
degree of the interference signals may correspond to a number of
interference signals with power greater than a specific power value
detected in a specific period; that is, the host may notify the
device if the number of interference signals with power greater
than the specific power value exceeds the threshold, which
represents that the number of interference signals which may
interfere with the USB 3.0 data transmission is greater than the
threshold. In another embodiment, the degree of the interference
signals may correspond to a total power of the interference signals
detected in a specific period; that is, the host may notify the
device if the total power of interference signals is greater than a
specific power value, which represents that the strength of
interference power may be enough to influence the USB 3.0 data
transmission.
Please refer to FIG. 2, which is a schematic diagram of a modified
identification flow when interference signals exist in a USB 3.0
system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As
shown in FIG. 2, Steps 200-204 are similar to Steps 100-104, and
will not be detailed herein. When the host discovers that the
degree of the interference signals is greater than a threshold, the
host may notify the device. After the device receives the
notification, the device may negotiate with the host and transmit
negotiating information related to frequency capability of the
device (Step 206). In other words, the device may transmit
negotiating information to the host, to inform the host the device
has the ability to operate the data transmission in a frequency,
e.g. 4 GHz, different to the normal super speed operating frequency
defined by USB standard. After the host receives the negotiating
information indicating that the device is able to operate in 4 GHz,
the host may check whether it supports 4 GHz operating frequency.
If the frequency 4 GHz is available for the host to communicate
with the device, the host may re-establish the connection with the
device via 4 GHz. The USB 3.0 data transmission via 4 GHz will not
interfere with wireless communication signals such as IEEE
802.11b/g/n.
In an embodiment, the frequency 4 GHz may not be available for the
host to communicate with the device. In such a condition, the host
may notify the device. After the device receives the notification
indicating that this frequency is not available for the host, the
device may try to include another feasible operating frequency in
another negotiating information and transmit the negotiating
information to the host. Alternatively, the device may include a
plurality of feasible operating frequencies in the negotiating
information to allow the host to choose one of the feasible
operating frequencies for the re-establishment.
In an embodiment, the device transmits the negotiating information
during the training process. For example, the negotiating
information may be carried in the training sequence to change
information related to the frequency. In an embodiment, the
negotiating information may be transmitted after data is
transmitted. For example, the interference signals may be detected
during data transmission. After the host detects the interference
signals, the host then notifies the device to transmit the
negotiating information. In such a condition, even if the
connection is established successfully and data starts to be
transmitted, the operating frequency can still be changed
dynamically. In an embodiment, even if the connection has been
re-established via a user-defined operating frequency such as 4
GHz, the connection may also be interfered with some other
interference signals. In such a condition, the connection may
further be re-established via another user-defined frequency such
as 3 GHz.
Please keep referring to FIG. 2. When the normal super speed data
transmission is interfered with wireless communication signals, the
connection may be re-established via 4 GHz. At this moment, the
super speed connection may be interrupted first, and the host then
re-detects the device (Step 208) and sends the training sequence
again to negotiate with the device via 4 GHz (Step 210). In other
embodiments, the connection may be re-established by directly
transferring the frequency to 4 GHz without additional negotiation
or training. If the frequency 4 GHz is available for the host to
communicate with the device, data can be transmitted in 4 GHz (Step
212).
In an embodiment, the super speed connection may not be established
successfully. For example, the interference signals may be too
severe and interrupt the super speed connection, or the device may
not have the capability of super speed data transmission. In such a
condition, the USB system may start a high speed (HS) connection
establishment. Please refer to FIG. 3, which is a schematic diagram
of an identification flow of a high speed connection in a USB 3.0
system. As shown in FIG. 3, the host first detects the device via
the super speed operating frequency (Step 300). If the host fails
to detect the device via the super speed operating frequency, the
host may re-detect the device via the high speed operating
frequency (Step 302). If the host successfully re-detects the
device, the host then performs enumeration to get a descriptor of
the device (Step 304); hence, data can be transmitted in high speed
(Step 306).
If the high speed operating frequency is interfered with wireless
communication signals, the connection may also be re-established
via another frequency. For example, after enumeration is performed,
the device may transmit the negotiating information indicating that
the device can operate the data transmission in a frequency, e.g. 4
GHz, different to the normal high speed operating frequency (Step
308). After the host receives the negotiating information which
indicates that the device is able to operate in 4 GHz, the host may
check whether it supports 4 GHz operating frequency. If the
frequency 4 GHz is available for the host to communicate with the
device, the host may re-establish the connection with the device
via 4 GHz. Please note that, even if the device cannot support
normal super speed operating frequency (5 GHz), the device may
still support a user-defined operating frequency such as 4 GHz.
As shown in FIG. 3, the high speed connection may also be
interrupted first, and the host then re-detects the device (Step
310) and sends the training sequence again to negotiate with the
device via 4 GHz (Step 312). Therefore, data can be transmitted in
4 GHz (Step 314). As mentioned above, this connection may also be
re-established by directly transferring the frequency to 4 GHz
without additional negotiation or training.
Please note that the present invention provides a method of
dynamically changing the operating frequency in a data transmission
system, which can be any types of wired or wireless data
communication system, and is not limited to the abovementioned USB
3.0 system. In general, when a lower frequency is available for
both the host and the device and is kept away from interference
signals, the data transmission may be performed via the lower
frequency, which further possesses an advantage of lower power
consumption. Therefore, the operating frequency of the data
transmission system is preferably reduced to possess the benefits
of both lower power consumption and less interference. This feature
is distinct from typical communication technologies seeking for
higher operating frequency and higher transmission rate. In
addition, the method of dynamically changing the operating
frequency can be performed in any states of the data transmission
or in any ways, which is not limited herein.
The abovementioned operations of dynamically changing frequency for
data transmission in a data transmission system can be summarized
into processes for both the host and the device. For the host, a
process 40 is shown in FIG. 4 and includes the following steps:
Step 400: Start.
Step 402: Establish a connection with a device of the data
transmission system via a first frequency.
Step 404: Receive a negotiating information from the device.
Step 406: Re-establish the connection with the device via a second
frequency when the negotiating information reveals that the second
frequency is available for the host to communicate with the device,
wherein the second frequency is different than the first
frequency.
Step 408: End.
The operation of dynamically changing frequency for the device is
summarized into a process 50, which is shown in FIG. 5 and includes
the following steps:
Step 500: Start.
Step 502: Establish a connection with a host of the data
transmission system via a first frequency.
Step 504: Transmit a negotiating information to the host.
Step 506: Allow the host to re-establish the connection via a
second frequency when the host is required to re-establish the
connection via the second frequency according to the negotiating
information, wherein the second frequency is different than the
first frequency.
Step 508: End.
In the prior art, when the USB 3.0 system is running in super
speed, the data transmission may generate a noise spectrum near 2.5
GHz, which may interfere with wireless communication such as IEEE
802.11b/g/n or Bluetooth. Therefore, the wireless data
communication is affected by the USB 3.0 data transmission. This
may result in a drop in throughput on the wireless link. In
comparison, the present invention provides a method of dynamically
changing operating frequency for data transmission in a data
transmission system. The connection can be established in any
frequency available for the host and the device. The user-defined
frequency may be lower than the standard frequency so that the data
transmission system can enjoy the benefits of both lower power
consumption and lower interference.
In addition, each step of the processes 40 and 50 may be compiled
into corresponding program code to implement the processes 40 and
50 in a host and a device of a data transmission system. Please
refer to FIG. 6, which is a schematic diagram of a communication
apparatus 60 according to an example of the present invention. The
communication apparatus 60 may be the host or the device, and
includes a communication interfacing unit 600, a processing means
602, a storage unit 604, and a program code 606. The program code
606 is stored in the storage unit 604, and can be used for
implementing the process 40 or 50 by indicating the processing
means 602 to perform operations corresponding to the process 40 or
50. Implementing the processes 40 or 50 through the program code
606 should be well-known to those skilled in the art, and is not
detailed here. Notably, the processing means 602 and the storage
unit 604 of the communication apparatus 60 may be implemented via
hardware, software, or firmware, etc., though not limited thereto.
Examples of hardware may include analog, digital and mixed circuits
known as microcircuit, microchip, or silicon chip. Examples of the
electronic system may include a system on chip (SoC), system in
package (SiP) and a computer on module (COM).
Note that in the context of this disclosure, a machine readable
storage medium or a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores
programs for use by or in connection with a data processing system,
apparatus, or device. In this regard, one example, among others, is
a machine readable storage medium embodying a program executable in
a data processing system such as the communication apparatus 60 in
FIG. 6. In accordance with such examples, the program may be
executed cause the data processing system to perform the process 40
or 50.
Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous
modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made
while retaining the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the
above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes
and bounds of the appended claims.
* * * * *